Coast Guard Cutter Dependable returns home after 50-day patrol

CAPE MAY, N.J. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Dependable is scheduled to return Friday to their homeport of Cape May at 10 a.m. following a 50-day patrol of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea covering more than 8,000 nautical miles.

The Dependable crew was tasked with enforcing fisheries and safety regulations, marine mammal protection laws, as well as coordinating the efforts of several surface and air assets. Vessel boardings were conducted in the Mid-Atlantic region ensuring safety and fishing regulations were followed.

During their deployment, the crew of the Dependable also went to the Caribbean Sea working alongside government agencies to stop smuggling operations from bringing illegal drugs to the United States.

The crews final patrol tasking was to provide a presence near the coast of Haiti. The Dependable was one of the first cutters to respond after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. This time, their mission was in support of homeland security, customs and immigration, law enforcement and search and rescue operations around Haiti.

“Being deployed for long periods of time is always hard on the crew and their families, but it’s especially difficult over the holiday season,” said Cmdr. George Lesher, commanding officer of the Dependable. “We were able to stop in Cape May for a brief visit with family for Thanksgiving. Just after Christmas, we received holiday packages from home during a port call in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These little breaks from being at sea were a great moral boost and made missing the holiday’s with our families a little more bearable for everyone.”